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Barack Obama sees rise of 'tribal attitude'

The president answers questions at Thursday's youth town hall. |
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Young people, especially college students, played a central role in Obama’s 2008 victory – creating an energetic army of supporters who swept into places like Iowa to organize support door-to-door. Exit polls showed 55 percent of new voters in 2008 were 18-24, with most backing Democrats.

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Just 44 percent of college students approve of the job Obama is doing, while 27 percent disapprove of his job performance, according to a new Associated Press-mtvU poll – down from a 60 percent approval rating in May 2009.

“Look, I don’t think young people are immune to the frustrations of our economy any more than voters my age or others,” said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, adding that “the pain of our economic devastation has been spread wide; it’s deep. It affects those who are coming out of college and looking for jobs in a job market for the first time.”

But few of the questions were about the economy. Most were about social issues or politics, including one from April Woodard of BET, who asked Obama what he thought of the tea party movement.

“This is a democracy. I want people to get involved,” he said. “I think there are a lot of people who are involved in the tea party who have very real concerns… and they have every right and an obligation as critics to be involved.”

He added: “I do think layered on top of them… is an awful lot of corporate money that is pouring into these elections right now.”

Republicans argued that the event – billed as an official presidential town hall – was in, effect, an Obama political rally and should have been billed as such.

Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.), mocked a Twitter promotion for show asking viewers to Tweet their greatest hopes and fears.

“Dear MTV, my greatest hope is for you to ask President Obama whether he believes GOP should have an hour of free time on MTV.”

Readers' Comments (326)

The "brilliant orator" steps in it again. Even Joe Bite Me can't keep up with the gaffes. Yes those of us who are upset with the state of our nation are kind of like a band of grunting savages. I'm so glad he's campaigning hard for Democrats.

Today more bad jobless news came out as more people than expected filed for unemployment benefits. Obama does not understand that everything he has done, including but not limited to his signature issue Obamacare, has contributed to the 9.7% unemployment. And in the black community, 50% of those 18 to 26 are without work. Thanks Obama. Vote republican or if you can't just sit this one out. Give us a chance to make things better.

“When you’re out of work and you can’t buy a home or you lost your home and you can’t pay your bills… sometimes that organizes [people] around kind of a tribal attitude and issues of race become more prominent.”

and you start to cling to your religion and your guns right, Mr. President?

Whats he trying to do rationalize the hate and loathing there is out here for him ? Not working. People just HATE a LIAR. He lied to get votes the first time. He WILL NOT get a second chance. Good ridance to BAD RUBBISH ! Are the wars ended ? No. Did we get the Universal Healthcare we were promised ? No. Are the gays serving Openly in the Military ? No, as a matter of fact HIS justice department is fighting this. Did the Latinos get immigration reform ? No. Is Obozo backing Isreal ? No he is trying to TELL them what to do. Is guantanamo closed ? No. This man is a lying POS, nothing more. The American people are soooo over him !

Did you all see that Mrs. Ø went to vote early in Chicago and while in the polling place she decided to do a little campaigning for the big Ø.

Yeah.

The problem is it's illegal. Probably everywhere. But what would a colledge educated lawyer know about that.

llinois state law -- Sec. 17-29 (a) -- states: "No judge of election, pollwatcher, or other person shall, at any primary or election, do any electioneering or soliciting of votes or engage in any political discussion within any polling place [or] within 100 feet of any polling place."

Oh well, much as I really really would hate to see it, they need to throw her considerable avoirdupois in jail. Pity.

So this is the audience that was chosen based on pictures and their political views!! And Obama is delusional. The racial tension is not due to the economy, it's due to him! He's caused more of a racial divide than I've ever seen. He views himself as President of the blacks, Dems and libs. He's pitted us one against the other: black vs. white; tea party vs. Dems; old vs. white; Muslims vs. Christians. He'd pathetic and is either completely delusional or just plain lies! I can't wait until he's neutered in a few weeks until we can get him out of OUR WH.

Obama has made race relations worse because he tries to get blacks and hispanics fired up at the expense of white voters cause he has lost the white vote and he knows it. He wants to give everything away like free healthcare to poor people at the expense of the middle class. CAN YOU SAY SOCIAL JUSTICE. OBAMA IS A TERD.

This guy is a real bozo. Blaming people out of work going racist. He better stick to MTV because no adult with half a brain would sit still for his crap. Him and his hench men are the ones who started this race baiting when anyone one disagrees with his policies. He needs to go.

This guy is a real bozo. Blaming people out of work going racist. He better stick to MTV because no adult with half a brain would sit still for his crap. Him and his hench men are the ones who started this race baiting when anyone disagrees with his policies. He needs to go.

one thing i admired about Obama and I wrote about it, i believe on this page, was that he refused to be entangled in race baiting. when jay leno or david letterman tried to get him to smear his opponents as racists who were opposing him because he was black, he ingeniously told the late night race baiter "i was black before the elections" with those soft words he embarrassed the host and stopped what could have been racial tensions in the country. elections matter and his words matter which is why i'm so disappointed in what he's doing these days telling crowds of African Americans that republicans want "blacks" to not vote. IT LOOKS DESPERATE. and it really minimizes him as a man and as a potential force for racial healing and reconciliation in this country. I PRAY HE WILL STOP THE RACE BAITING. HE CAN DO GREAT DAMAGE TO RACE RELATIONS. WE NEED HIM TO BE ABOVE THE FRAY. HE IS THE PRESIDENT OF ALL AMERICANS AND HE NEEDS TO ACT LIKE IT. THIS IS PETTY AND HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR GREAT DAMAGE. PRESIDENT OBAMA PLEASE STOP IT. WE ARE ONE COUNTRY AND WHILE THERE ARE ALWAYS POLITICAL DIVISIONS AND OPPOSITION TO PRESIDENTS, LIKE YOU WERE IN OPPOSITION TO BUSH, AND I WAS IN OPPOSITION TO CLINTON, WE DONT NEED TO GO DOWN THE ROAD OF PLAYING THE RACE CARD, ESPECIALLY NOT THE PRESIDENT. YOUR WORDS HAVE GREAT POWER. PLEASE USE THEM WISELY LIKE YOU DID ON THE LATE NIGHT SHOW. PROMOTE HEALING NOT DIVISION. I AM AN ARAB AMERICAN. IM NO STRANGER TO RACE BAITING, ETC. ETC. ETC. THERE ARE CERTAIN LINES WE MUST NOT CROSS. I THINK YOUR CROSSING ONE BY CLAIMING WE'RE TRIBAL. AS A REPUBLICAN YOU'RE MAKIGN ME FEEL YOUR NOT MY PRESIDENT ANY MORE WITH YOUR WORDS ABOUT RACE.

Obama once again proves how out-of-touch he is with real people. He surrounds himself with "yes" men and women, and must be constantly told how great he is. He really believes he is divine, some sort of god. Of course, there will always be fools who follow false gods. They're known as dimocrats.

Actually the racist, arrogant, incompetent anti-American president has strained racial tensions as he deflects his total abject failure onto various strawmen which he sets up on a regular basis to divide people by groups, pitting them against one another. Of course, Americans are realizing this more and more every day, so nothing the destroyer-in-chief says really matters. November comes....